[Anchor]

Despite the global popularity of K-pop, there is growing talk of a crisis within the popular music industry. It has become increasingly difficult for small and medium-sized agencies to cultivate the next BTS. The government has begun to devise countermeasures.

Reporter Kim Gyeong-hui has the story.

[Reporter]

This is P1Harmony, a group in their sixth year since debut that is gaining significant popularity in the global music market.

Their 9th mini-album reached number 4 on the Billboard main album chart this past March.

ATEEZ, in their eighth year since debut, saw their new album enter the Billboard main album chart at number 1 last week, marking their third time reaching the top spot.

Such achievements are rare in the current K-pop market.

Among the 14 K-pop groups that have reached the top 5 on the Billboard album chart, P1Harmony and ATEEZ are the only ones not affiliated with the four major agencies.

Industry insiders say that due to soaring production costs and intensifying capital competition, it has become difficult for small and medium-sized agencies to produce the next BTS.

[Woo Seung-hyun / Chairman of the Korea Music Industry Association: It is a high-cost environment where it is commonly said in the industry that it takes 10 billion won to create and bring one idol group to a stable trajectory.]

With the number of new artists entering domestic charts also shrinking, a red light has been turned on for the future of K-pop.

[Choi Hwi-young / Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism: I think this is a point in time where question marks are being raised about how long this momentum (of K-pop) can be sustained.]

Proposed measures to protect small and medium-sized agencies, which serve as the backbone of K-pop, include the introduction of support funds and tax credits for production costs.

[Kim Jin-woo / CEO of RBW: Funds that support content, such as mother funds or growth funds, are constantly being released. However, K-pop is not a primary objective. Movies are included, and so are games.]

High rental fees for performance venues in local regions, which are even more expensive than in Seoul, and a lack of performance infrastructure are also cited as issues that need to be resolved for the growth of K-pop.

The government has selected 10 teams, including the group RESCENE, for its overseas expansion support project for small and medium-sized agencies newly established this year. It announced that it would double the scale of support starting next year and discuss production cost tax credits with financial authorities.

Reported by Kim Gyeong-hui | Video Editing by Kim Jong-tae | Graphics by Kim Ye-ji | VJ by Oh Se-gwan | Video courtesy of FNC Entertainment, KQ Entertainment, The Muze Entertainment, GREATM Entertainment